Sowing the Indigo Sky
by Withered Talon
Summary: The fake stars threaten to come crashing down as a spiral of events swallow Hei, while elsewhere the sky yearns to touch its double...
1. The Waning Light of Ecstacy

_Hey guys! This is my first fanfic, so if you have any feedback please please PLEASE tell me! Because I need it! Hopefully gonna go somewhere with this._

Life was quiet now. A mere 2 years after Izanami and Izanagi's awakenings, well, there was little more to say. Each day had come and gone, as dull as the last. No, there was nothing more to say.

Hei looked at his fingers, uninterested. His hair was just long enough to be a nuisance but still too short to tie back, eyes still the same flat navy they'd always been. He stood up, masking himself with a swift downward motion, and stepped outside. The moon was resonant in its silvery light, and he was reminded of the pale hair that he knew so well.

"Hei." Twin drops of rose, deep wine-colored eyes looked at him as he stepped out. He looked back at them through the miniscule slits of his carefully designed mask, the last he had at that moment. He would have to get more, he noted, if he wanted to maintain a cover, even though a select number had already shattered this. More knives, too.

"Hei," Yin repeated. "You're leaving."

"I'll be back," he promised in a cool, crisp voice as his hand drew over her shoulder for a moment. Then he turned away and leapt into the night, as a single grappling claw carried him into the fake stars.

His eyes were set on his known destination, but his mind wandered, like any human's would. Mao, he hadn't seen Mao in a while, he thought. He'd arrange something soon. Come to think of it, Mao was with that officer, Kirihara, most of the time. But that was Mao- dying to have a piece of the action, yet so uninterested in getting involved. Yin, on the other hand, was becoming more independent each day, he noted with equal weight in his mind. He'd seen no traces of Izanami within her ever since that fated day those 2 years ago, but at the same time, he knew that Izanami existed. He could feel that callous presence, and while he couldn't put his finger to its origin, he knew it was in the town, and from the looks of the common murders of contractors and humans alike, she- or it- was certainly active and very much alive.

Those two years ago, he recalled, were both the best and worst of his life. He had lost many a friend, too many, but he had spent each day with Yin, and that alone brought him enough joy to continue on.

But today- not today, but this passing period of time- had the sickening feeling of a dream too close to ending, on the verge between perfection and the waking world.

His eyes found his target and he sprang.


	2. The Shadows' Disturbances

_[Hey guys! My chapters have been pretty short so far, and they're probably going to continue to be, but hopefully I'll get enough of them to make up for it. Comments are welcome and needed! Thanks for reading ^^]_

"Li-san!"

Hei didn't look back as he swung away from the familiar tones of Kirihara's voice. He turned his gaze to the stars, and caught a glimpse of one just starting its melancholy descent. Falling stars, that was something all too familiar as well- the nostalgia was overwhelming.

He was troubled, but not only because of his uncharacteristic reminiscence. He pushed himself forward even faster than he'd been going, brows furrowing as he neared the house. He had to leave his old accommodations behind with his former identity, and this apartment was not nearly as welcoming, kept uncannily clean at all times. Intrusions were routine, and for this reason organization was a dire factor in daily life.

"What are you doing?" a gruff voice interrupted his churning thoughts. Hei turned his gaze to the tall but hunched man. "I didn't see you come down."

"Come down…" Hei didn't reply, but only stared at him in honest disbelief for a moment before leaping up the stairwell, skipping two for every one he touched.

* * *

><p>"<em>Hei."<em>

_Hei felt the naked girl in his arms stir, silver hair loose for perhaps the first time he'd truly seen, been able to touch. He gripped her a bit tighter as he continued walking._

"_I'm here, Yin," he murmured with the softest tones he possessed._

"_Hei…the moon," she looked up with her big, painted-glass eyes at the empty night sky._

"_It's a new moon," he replied blandly._

"_It looks like you."_

_Hei smiled._

* * *

><p>"Yin!" Hei yelled as he burst through the door, the embodiment of urgency. He saw nothing- no Yin, no others, no ransom note or otherwise…no blood, which relieved little of his tension. No traces. Nothing was stirred in the setting.<p>

"Bastards," he seethed as he burst through the window.


	3. The Ivory's Last Song

_[Hey again! Sorry it took so long to get this up, I've been busy for a while, but anyhoo, we finally get to slam some real plotline in ^^ hope you enjoy! And PLEASE leave comments, I need them to get better for Ch. 4!]_

_Hei._

Yin's head turned slightly on the moth-bitten couch, which smelled faintly of mildew. There was another person in the room…though her specter lacked sufficient water to leave her body, she could nonetheless feel waves of malevolence from the two beady eyes across from her.

_He's bad_, she recognized blandly.

"You're the doll of that contractor, BK-201, correct?" The man's voice seemed to have disconnection from his body- its smooth placidity contradicted his rough, gruff figure. Yin said nothing. "He'll come for you," he nodded, satisfied.

_Don't leave me,_ she thought as her blank gaze wandered.

The man had a set of dominoes in front of him, which he began to set up carefully. Yin watched him, as a twinge of puzzlement set in on her for the first time in years. He seemed to inspect each piece carefully before either tossing it back to the side or placing it with care on the table. She couldn't tell with her eyesight whether or not they had a specific order, but from the tiny flecks of scattered color she _could_ see, they appeared random.

"This is my payment. There's a string of numbers that I have to set up and destroy, some way or other," he explained in his slick voice. "Dominoes are the most convenient way. I could also write them out and burn the paper, but this takes less effort." He paused, waiting for a response. "I wouldn't be able to rip it, you see, because if any two numbers still remain 'standing,' I haven't completed my payment."

Yin didn't blink as she gave a slight nod. The man set up the last domino and flicked the first, as each after it fell down in turn.

"So tell me, sweetheart, what's your name? Or can you not say?" He lit a cigar and put it in a rough corner of his mouth. "I've never seen a doll before, but I hear you can't do anything on your own."

"Yin," she replied blankly. He chuckled.

"Yin? What kind of a name is that?" He exhaled after a long draw that appeared quite satisfying. She didn't reply. "I heard you were involved with the doll network crisis a couple of years ago. You look pretty harmless, but you can't judge a book by its cover, can you?"

"Why am I here?" she finally asked.

"Why? We have an agenda," he replied, cigar dangling between his fingers as it slipped from one to the other. "And we can't have BK-201 interfering."

_Hei,_ she thought, _don't come._

"The other half of it is, we need Izanami," he continued, eyes lighting up. "And I've heard that she is you."

Yin stared at him and slowly shook her head. "No."

"She hasn't parted from you, has she?" he started to frown slightly, pensively. "A being such as that couldn't separate from a body, could it?..."

The window crashed open as a black figure darted through, and a two-pronged knife spun in the air towards the man.

At once, his eyes sparked red. A long shadow extended from his hand, and the second it touched the knife the deadly metal disintegrated into dust. Hei stood opposite him and Yin, as the darkened rays danced around her tauntingly.

"Hei," she breathed.

"What do you want to let her go?" Hei stiffened as his venomous eyes turned to the man.

"Let's have some introductions, first," he gave a slight smirk as he straightened up, suddenly much taller than the stout man he'd appeared to be before. "You're BK-201, correct? You can call me Wednesday," he bowed smartly. "You want to work out a deal? Your life for hers."

Hei turned to Yin, and then back to Wednesday. He began a slow walk towards him as the ring of shadows forced Yin forward and past him. Wednesday's light blue eyes sparked as the darkness drew back towards him like his blown-out cigar smoke, rushing back at Hei. A long cord flew out of Hei's hand, lashing out towards Wednesday and missing by a hair, just as the long shadows did Hei.

"I supposed you wouldn't be interested in an easy death. Have it your way." A towering spot of darkness rose like a claw through the sky behind Wednesday, before rushing towards Hei.

Hei ducked to the side from the raging attack, throwing his cord out once more; this time it wrapped around Wednesday's wrist. Hei's eyes sparked red as he heard a small sound behind him. As he stared at the contractor in front of him, a horror grew in him that mirrored that in Wednesday's own eyes.

Hei turned around and caught only a glimpse of garnet-colored eyes and the tips of outstretched fingers that had undoubtedly once caressed ivory keys, as both broke into a stream of ash that melted away into the air.


	4. Bright Crimson Nostalgia

_[Hey guys! Just an update, our significant other character will be appearing verrryyy shortly, so sit tight, tell me what I can improve and enjoy, por favor! :D]_

* * *

><p>Hei lashed back with a stare from hell as he slammed down the man's head, smashing it into the ground with such force he could feel the side crack. He surged electricity through every nerve in Wednesday's body until he was sure the man could feel no more, then threw him back to earth.<p>

"Yin!" he yelped as he stumbled towards her, Wednesday's shadows ebbing from her like a black, fluid tide.

Her nearly sightless eyes were, for the first time he'd known, purely blind. Their stare had no target, fixated on something far off. His mouth contorted slightly before his entire face followed suit, the image of devastation. As tears, an unfamiliar sensation to him, stormed down his face, a devious thought flickered in his head, that it was so incredibly ironic that Yin's own medium streamed from his pitiful, placid gaze while his heart was drenched in the sorrow from her loss.

He picked her up delicately, as he had two years prior, this time knowing that the tremble of her breath would never return, and walked out.

* * *

><p>"<em>Hei."<em>

_Hei felt the naked girl in his arms stir, silver hair loose for perhaps the first time he'd truly seen, been able to touch. He gripped her a bit tighter as he continued walking._

"_I'm here, Yin," he murmured with the softest tones he possessed._

"_Hei…the moon," she looked up with her big, painted-glass eyes at the empty night sky._

"_It's a new moon," he replied blandly._

"_It looks like you."_

_Hei smiled._ "_I wish. It's nice, having one less fake light clouding up a fake sky."_

"_Hei," Yin's gaze turned slightly more towards his voice, "can we go back?"_

"_We're going home now."_

"_To before."_

_Hei blinked, taken aback. "Yeah."_

"_I'm happy." She closed her eyes and allowed his hand to clasp her head, and the side of her mouth turned up ever so slightly at the corner._

"…_me too," Hei breathed, voice catching as subtly as her smile as he looked back up._

* * *

><p>"Kirihara!" Oreille's voice chimed harshly in the officer's ear.<p>

"What's up?" she darkened, detecting the urgency in the other's voice.

"BK-201's active." She paused. "Something's happened to the doll, they're saying."

"Ariel and Bernice say?" Kirihara touched her headset closer in disbelief. "And you're sure it's him? This is Yin?"

Another pause. "They're sure."

"Do they know his location?"

"They're looking," she replied. "I'll update you if they find him. We'll have the entire network looking for him soon."

"Alright. Copy and out," Kirihara nodded as she heard the static click off at the other end.

_Li…after all this time, you just show up out of nowhere?_

* * *

><p>"Hurry up or you'll be late!"<p>

"I know, Mom!" A red braid flashed past the doorway as Suou grabbed her backpack and swiftly swung it over her shoulder.

"Bye, honey," Suou's mother smiled, pecking her on the cheek as her daughter returned the kiss before cheerfully skipping out.

_A sophomore, so soon? Time flies,_ she thought with that happy-sad maternal nostalgia so many mothers have as she watched her daughter go. _So funny how time flies._

Suou burst into her classroom only a heartbeat after the bell rang.

"_Again_, Pavlichenko?" the homeroom teacher raised his brows as the class snickered with familiar laughter.

"Sorry!" she blushed deeply, running to sit down. Wirsch-sensei was sarcastic, but he wasn't the type to take her lateness seriously, for which she was very grateful. She wiped her mouth, sure there were remnants of breakfast left on.

She woke up late that morning, culprit being the odd dream from last night. Funny thing with dreams was, you couldn't recall a name or a face five minutes after it was vividly stuck in your head. That was the annoying part. She could only remember a powerful sense of longing and loneliness that sent chills down her spine, something she knew she'd experienced but couldn't put a finger on.

Dreams were dreams, though. She couldn't worry too much.


	5. Naming Constellations

_[Hey guys, SOOOO sorry for the update time- how long's it been, a year or something? I kinda let the story slip for a while, but no worries- for the time being, I'm back in business ;3 Hope you like- think it's about time we had these two meet!]_

Suou flinched as she woke this time, panting lightly, and wiped the sweat off her brow.

This time had been different. This time, that face had been much more vivid…the darkness of that gaze…the way the navy irises clashed with bright red pupils, that looked like embers dropped in the ocean…she'd never seen this face before, she was sure of it. Not as far as she knew, anyway…

"SUOU!" her mother shouted.

"Coming!" she yelped, pulling on a tank top absentmindedly.

"That's what you said twenty minutes ago!" the shrill voice countered. Suou flushed red with embarrassment- she'd fallen back asleep? Well, it _was_ very common for her, so she couldn't say she was surprised, but all the same, she normally could faintly recall rolling back over…

_I've never seen him before…but…ugh! Screw it,_ Suou decided. _If he's important, I'd know who he was…_

Suou presented Wirsch-sensei with a late note after pleading continuously with her mother to sign it. She _had_ been doing homework the night before, and it _was_ raining when she'd fallen back asleep, so it was excusable; the teacher took the note without looking at it, shrugged with a half smirk and motioned to her seat.

The window was far more interesting than that day's history lesson- World War II was "fascinating and all," but she couldn't find the vigor or interest to focus on the monotonous voice of her professor. She noted that the eggs in the nest outside had not yet hatched despite summer's rapid approach, and wondered to herself whether or not they would…mmh, something would come and eat them…nice day, the rain had vanished from before…

_That man, the one with the black hair and the dark blue eyes- he had shoveled the last bit of dirt atop a painstakingly dug but nonetheless crude grave. A large city was in the background- Suou couldn't tell which one it was, it looked completely different from any she'd ever seen before- but she knew he was in the outskirts of wherever it was._

_"Yin…" He dropped a couple silver hairs on the top, keeping a firm grasp on only one for himself. "I couldn't move fast enough…I was rash…I only wish I was the one who paid the price for it…"_

_He rose tenderly, but fell into a rougher stature, an indifferent, calm and cold businesslike posture. This man didn't mess around. She noticed his hands, and suddenly felt her cheek sear- she couldn't put a finger on why, exactly. It was like they had made contact before, once…it was burning hot…_

_His eyes flickered up, but after a second, he glanced back and became fixated on her, eyes widening. He took a step towards where she stood, filled with uncertainty._

_"Suou?"_

_Her cheek was burning, burning hot-_

_"_Suou, wake up!" Wirsch-sensei shouted as the classroom snickered, some condescendingly, others affectionately. "Geez, you're a heavy sleeper…"

"Sorry!" She touched her cheek, where it had been pressed against the sundrenched desk…it was flushed.

"Get started on your homework earlier," he grumbled. "Then _maybe_ you'll have enough energy to stay awake during class. Not like you don't have it every other hour of the day."

Suou scribbled notes dutifully for the rest of class, but in the back of her mind, that voice was echoing like a shout in a cave…no one had said her name like that, not even her parents. It was like he knew her…

* * *

><p>"Was that really-" Hei stopped himself. He started to open his mouth, but decided no sense was to be made of this.<p>

_He'd only just buried Yin, only just put to rest the woman he loved more than life itself, perhaps the truest friend he'd ever known...Mao put aside, she was his right hand, his motivation, and now...gone?_

_He stood up gruffly, unsure what exactly to make of himself. What was he going to do now, go back to killing Contractors? Not that he'd ever stopped...he had nothing left, though. He'd chased all the loose ends, fried anyone who got in his way...everything had been so good, and it was gone all at once. One mistake, one wrong step. That's all it had taken._

_He glanced around to make sure there was no one waiting to rob the grave. Nope, nothing much- well, maybe a stray Specter...Specter? He looked back at the being of mist and wind, hoping with all his heart that it might be Yin's shape, that somehow it had survived..._

_But it wasn't. It didn't have the shape of a fully developed Specter, nothing like Yin's, although it did have a form...something hauntingly familiar seemed to make up this being's essence. He felt chills go up his spine as he recognized a single braid dangling from the head, shoulders just broad enough to hold a rifle...he hoped with everything he had that he wasn't mistaken now, that there wasn't another hope about to be swiped away from him..._

_"Suou?" he dared utter, just as his hand seared hot. It was only a moment, as the Specter- well, it was odd. It didn't flit away through a powerline or sink into water- it just...vanished._

"Couldn't have been," Hei muttered. But at the same time, he was thinking, _Must have been. _He didn't know how, why, or anything else, but the gut, the instinct he had- the thing that made him human, not just Contractor- was screaming it.


	6. Transuniversal Prism

_[Alright! Not much to say on this other than since school is starting back up, update time will probably be even slower than it normally is, and for that I apologize :S Thanks for all your comments, they've been really helpful in refining my writing style as well as supportive!]_

"Are you sure?"

"Er…I guess so!" Suou grimaced as she took the steering wheel. "I mean, I've been practicing nonstop for months! I can _do_ this!" She gingerly tested the gas pedal, which didn't respond at first; she pressed a little harder and it shot forward.

"Careful," her father warned. "Now, the road's a little slippery, but it'll be good practice. Just stay in the parking lot and keep it slow."

Suou nodded and gave a careful push again. It took a few seconds before it began to move forward, like a buzz, a droplet riding a wave. She tested the steering wheel at the first turn, turning it just a little to the left, and was disappointed when nothing happened. She swung it a little more and made a nice, clean leftward movement.

"Great start. Now, speed it up a little. Go to fifteen or twenty," he advised. She nodded again in meticulous concentration as she prodded the gas just a little more. From ten to twelve. Just a little- whoa-

"Slow down!" Mr. Pavlichenko shouted. She eased the gas in a panic, but there was no halt in the car's path. "TURN!" The command was frantic; Suou turned the wheel around fully as the parking lot's meeting with the walls of an insurance company approached rapidly. The car swung around, and she exhaled, and immediately began trying to straighten out the wheel.

"Going to get us killed," her father muttered. She applied the breaks when the wheel refused to offer assistance to their situation. That was her mistake. She felt a skid, then another skid, and then a wheel slipped off the slick road and into the grass, far less elevated than they.

A terrifying, surreal sensation engulfed them both, the feeling one gets when soaring down a rollercoaster's hill, or trying to clear a loop-de-loop. A sharp impact hit the driver's side, and she narrowly jerked her head away from the side. The ceiling's hit was unavoidable, however, and the bone-crushing blow sent her into immediate darkness.

* * *

><p><em>Fading…was that chirping? Birds? No, it was metallic-sounding, mechanical to the ear…sounded like an ambulance…<em>

* * *

><p><em>Chirping again? She wanted to see, this was no ambulance, she knew that sound…this was something new…it was cold…<em>

* * *

><p>"I'm afraid she's comatose, Mr. Pavlichenko," a cold, white-coated man adjusted his glasses uncomfortably. "Not quite brain dead, no. There's still significant activity. But cases like these will require a great deal of patience."<p>

"Do you think we can wake her? Dr. Morris?" Suou's father pressed urgently, a broken expression evident as he waited for his wife's return.

"Well…I think only time will tell. I would like to try an operation in two weeks, if she is still unconscious then. It could have side effects," he glanced away, "such as a temporary loss of motor control, or paralysis. But I'm afraid some of her neural passages may have been damaged, and we would have to do our best to repair those."

"I should have never let you drive, you idiot," he cried softly. "Not on a day like this…"

Dr. Morris didn't offer any consolation. He paused, then left abruptly.

* * *

><p><em>Things were clearer now. Suou now had a very sharp sense of being, although it was cold, like she was without a body. She urged herself to move, and pulsed forward slightly. It was like she was a vibration across a string, and whenever she moved, powerful heat shook her core. Surprisingly, it wasn't painful. Anything that hot should have left a burn, or at least provoked pain, but nothing happened.<em>

_She continued to "run" down this cord. It was a wire, an electric wire, she realized. An odd thought occurred to her- had she died? Was this heaven? Was it hell? It didn't seem particularly good or evil…_

_She heard a steely purr, and focused her awareness on its origin, following lines until she could see clearly. A man with holes in his hands was handling an iron cat sculpture. Things were getting weirder and weirder…this must be a dream. A weird, awful dream. She watched as white tingled on the corners of her vision…no, she had to see this…the man took a piece of metal and began chewing on it. _Chewing._ What was…no, not now…she felt silver eyes with no whites flicker up at her as a head turned, and then…_

* * *

><p>Hei felt eyes on him. He looked around the room- no water, all glass was covered. He'd thrown a sheet over the lamp as he furiously surfed an unplugged laptop for more information on Wednesday and his organization. He hadn't stopped thinking about it for a moment, not since…<p>

He hadn't heard much, just something about them not wanting him to interfere in their affairs. Yin hadn't been able to tell him, it had all happened too fast…so far, he hadn't found anything but Wednesday's star code, DS-983. He concluded that Wednesday was probably a newer contractor, far newer than November 11, April and that general following. He'd had no qualms about killing his hostage, either, suggesting that it may have been the original plan anyway. And that, he concluded, probably came from the need to destroy Izanami.

That feeling of being watched had not ceased. He looked around the room a second time. Curiously enough, it didn't feel like a purposeful observation, nor one with an intention. But it still could not be tolerated. He stood up, scanning for any possible medium. Dolls didn't travel through wood, did they? No, the ground was _not_ watching him…

* * *

><p><em>Finally, she had a grip on her awareness again! She couldn't exactly see much, though. She cast her sights out a little further and saw a man, standing up in a dark coat. Hey, she knew this one from somewhere…oh yeah! The man from her dream! So she must be dreaming after all. She peered closer at him, though her firm attachment to some blue strand- electric cord- was painfully obvious to her. He slowly turned around, and fixated his eyes on her. He approached aggressively, unsheathing a two-pronged knife. For some reason, though, she didn't move, fascinated.<em>

* * *

><p>"The ethernet cable!" Hei suddenly realized. "Dammit! But most Specters don't go through anything but their mediums…"<p>

He watched in utter bewilderment as the blue, glowing shape extended itself from the wall, taking on some humanlike shape. Hei paused, then threw his knife into the wall, slicing the cable in an act of self-preservation. But to his surprise, the shape seemed to solidify somewhat, into an imperfect version of a haunting figure of his past.


End file.
